During surgical procedures, one or more devices may be used to support a patient's head. For example, there may be a need to provide a static support for a patient's head; and typically, a static head support includes one or more pads that provide a static subjacent support of the patient's head in a prone or supine position. Such a static head support is mounted on a crossbar that extends transversely off the end of a patient support such as an operating table. Alternatively, a stabilization device, such as a skull clamp, is also used to support and stabilize a patient's head, and such a skull clamp is also mounted on the crossbar. In some applications, both static head support and skull clamp stabilization are desired, and then both devices must be mounted on the crossbar. In those situations where both subjacent support and lateral stabilization are required, having to mount both devices from the same crossbar member is complicated, inflexible and inconvenient. Therefore, there is a need to provide a support structure for a head support and a stabilization device that is more convenient and flexible to use.
Children around two years old and younger also present special issues with respect to a head support system. Such young children do not often have a bone structure that permits the use of known skull clamps, and therefore, other head support systems are required. While it is known to use a horseshoe pad to support a child's head, a horseshoe pad does provide any lateral support or stabilization of the child's head. Therefore, there is a need for a head support system for a child that provides both subjacent and lateral support of the child's head.
Therefore, there is a need to provide structure for more flexibly mounting head support and stabilization devices.